The Longest Road
by ErrorGenerator
Summary: Wes returns to Orre after a five-year exile, driven by the power Lugia stored inside him before it was corrupted by Cipher. However, acting as Lugia's storage vessel takes its toll on Wes's body, and he fears he may never fully recover from it.
1. The Last Five Years

Chapter 1 – The Last Five Years

The Orre's sands always seem lonely to the people who haven't lived there. Most of those who have were lonely enough from the start, and we see those bleak, empty sand dunes as home. It's a futuristic post-apocalyptic shithole, but to us, it's home regardless.

I'd been away from that home for five years. Even one year was far too long, but it was something I had to do if I wanted to stay out of Pyrite's prison cell. Why? Because about ninety percent of the region considered me either a criminal or a traitor. Even Rui, who had stuck by my side even when I told her that I used to be a part of Team Snagem, slapped me in the face and ran off when she found out about what I'd done as a member of the organization. She had never meant much to me, other than someone to keep me company, but when she called me "the scum of the Earth" it definitely hurt. A lot.

Though, in her defense, she was probably right. I probably am worthy of the title "Scum of the Earth". Not only did I willingly steal trainers' Pokémon, but I'd let myself be used to steal other things for the criminal syndicate known as Team Snagem, known and feared throughout Orre's sands. As Gonzap's right-hand man, and a skinny little teenager, I was sent out to sneak into labs through air ducts and other tight spaces. As one of the leading criminal organizations in the area, Team Snagem made all kinds of deals under-the-table, and there was always a chance that something would go wrong. As reassurance, I would hide somewhere on the scene in case a deal fell through. On the rare occasion that it did, my job was to jump out, take our half of the bargain and run for it. Yeah, not quite "scum of the Earth" material, but it didn't stop there.

From then on, my crimes grew worse as I grew older. In the beginning, I stole from other criminals, on Gonzap's orders. A year and a half in, I started stealing from citizens and other wanderers, on my own terms. Of course, I was never truly alone. I had my Pokémon, who had been with me for as long as I can remember. Silver, an incredibly intelligent Espeon; and Shadow, a cunning and quick-striking Umbreon, were my partners in crime, and in everything else. If it weren't for them, I probably wouldn't be sane.

There is one other person who kept me from winding up in an asylum. Kayle. I met him the first time I ventured out of the Snagem hideout on my own. I got myself lost right around the Outskirt Stand, a little train car in the middle of nowhere that serviced the many wanderers who either had nowhere to go or, like me, were lost in the Orre's ever-shifting sands. I was only fourteen when we first locked eyes, but there must have been something about me that he liked, because he led me inside.

Life in Team Snagem, despite its dangers, was relatively rewarding. I had a place to go back to. The guys had my back and I had theirs, if the shit ever hit the fan. Most of the time, all of our dealings went smoothly. I was only thirteen when I'd joined, so Gonzap took me under his wing; practically treated me like his son.

…Thinking about it, that probably explains a lot. Never said he was particularly sane, either.

The trouble started about two months before I blew up the hideout and left the team. Snagem and Cipher had made a few deals with each other in the past, and Gonzap refused to let their newest deal fall through. They provided us with a revolutionary way to steal Pokémon – the Snag Machine. There were two of them; a large one we kept at the hideout, and a portable one that Gonzap entrusted to me, believing me to be the most capable Snagger he had. By then, he'd started to see my relationship with Silver and Shadow as a weakness, so I was determined to prove to him that I was still an invaluable asset. I might have done it partially out of pride…but I really did it for Silver and Shadow. I would have died for them. I was prepared to do anything to keep them out of Gonzap's claws.

I expected a high quota. I knew I'd have to hurt a lot of people, and probably smash their faces in with the Snag Machine attached to my arm, but I wasn't expecting Gonzap to tell me to kill every trainer I stole a Pokémon from.

It was a condition set by Cipher. They wouldn't take the Pokémon unless their trainers were dead or otherwise unable to spread the information that their Pokémon had been taken. After my first snag relating to the Cipher job, he handed me a pistol and whispered the order into my ear. I had met the victim once before, and it had been hard to see the look of shock on his face when my Snag Ball had captured his Pokémon. I was only seventeen, and I didn't have any kind of grudge against the guy. I tried to pull away, but Gonzap pressed a knife against the back of my skull. Feeling a drop of blood slide down my neck, I knew he was serious. I trained the gun on the trainer and fired.

After that, we went straight back to the hideout. Gonzap warned me not to balk again, and enforced it by using a hunting knife to carve a horizontal line across my face, from one cheekbone to the other. To this day, I can remember his words. As the blood slid down my face, mixing with tears brought on by the pain, he whispered to me, "This is a warning, Wes. I don't want to have to kill you, but if you can't obey my orders, I'll use this same knife to carve a line across your throat." He then slipped the knife into his pocket, right next to his revolver. As much as I hated him, as much as I wanted to take that knife and slit his throat before he had the chance to do it to me, I stayed where I was. Bleeding, shaking, and damn near terrified to tears, I couldn't have pulled it off, anyway.

And so, I did as I was told. With a cold stare and one swift shot, I killed the trainer of every Pokémon I stole. There were forty-eight Pokémon in all. Each one had come from a different trainer.

The day I heard about the Shadow Pokémon, I lost it. The thought of Silver and Shadow ending up like them terrified me, and I refused to victimize any more innocent Pokémon. While the rest of the team was out, I set charges all over the base, and on the large Snag Machine. Gonzap kept the portable one in a case in his office when I wasn't chasing a target, so I slipped in, grabbed it, and set off the charges as soon as I was out of there. I took off on my car-sized motorcycle, the Snag Machine finally mine, with Silver and Shadow riding safely in the sidecar, and started my quest to recapture and purify every single Shadow Pokémon I'd had a hand in creating. And I succeeded.

Still, it wasn't enough. Because I was stupid enough to tell Rui a little bit more about my past, she freaked out and ran straight to the police. After hearing her story, they came after me almost immediately. I fled to the Outskirt Stand, where Kayle awaited. Even while I ran with Team Snagem, he'd supported me, saying I'd get out of there someday. He was the only consistent person in my life, besides Gonzap, Silver, and Shadow, of course, and I left the motorcycle with him. I can remember that conversation with him, clear as day.

"Why are you leaving this with me if you're going somewhere outside the desert?" he asked.

"I'm heading out into the mountains," I said. "Besides, it's a reminder. I'll come back. I don't know if it'll be in five months or five years, but one of these days I'll be racing around on that thing again." I smirked at him.

"Well, if you're so sure about it, get going already," Kayle snapped. "I got customers."

"To hell with the customers," I snapped. He turned around, ready to argue, and I pulled him down to my height, kissing him. It was long, deep, and full of words that didn't need to be said. We stayed like that for what felt like ages, but was really only a few minutes. When the moment was over, I stuffed Silver and Shadow back into their Pokéballs and let out Talon, my Skarmory. I hopped up on her back, turned back to look at Kayle one more time, and we were off.

The flight from the east end of the desert to the forested mountains up northwest took two days. I couldn't read Talon's mind, but being on her back, I could feel her muscles working, the rise of her body temperature as the day dragged on, and her breathing. Once I could feel her heartbeat throbbing throughout her body, reverberating through mine, I let her down immediately. We found a spot safe from the wind, I let out the rest of the Pokémon in the team, and we all slept together, huddled in a ball for warmth. That night, I dreamt of the so-called family I had left behind to come to Orre. When I woke up the next morning, I looked up at the sky with narrowed eyes. I watched my sleeping companions, thinking of the bonds we'd all forged. That included many of the Pokémon who weren't in my team at that very moment.

"_These guys…are more of a family to me than my blood relatives ever were," _I thought to myself, hoping Silver, if not Shadow, would be able to feel the sentiment. I think they did, because they curled up even tighter next to me, purring in their sleep. We got up before the sun rose, while it was still cool, and took off again.

During those five years away from Orre, I met only one other human. He never gave me his name. He gave me food and shelter, as well as the rest of my Pokémon. All of them, including the great legendaries that had joined me after the last Shadow Pokémon was purified, had the room to run free on the mountain, and they always returned to me. Often, I wished they wouldn't. I was the one who killed their trainers. They didn't deserve to have to live with me.

That one old hermit, as it turned out, was an old ninja, though he'd never completed his training and turned to thievery in order to survive. He used the five years we had on the bleak, empty mountainside to teach me how to survive, as well. Or, at least, he tried to. Because of my slight build, I'd always resorted to climbing through air conditioners and squeezing into other tight places in order to steal things, but he wanted to teach me how to hide my presence and hone my ability to balance on narrow footholds.

I remember asking to be taught to fight, but his answer was, "No. You're not suited for battle. A little whelp like you would get knocked out with one hit. If you want to be able to make it, you have to be sneaky. For that, you need speed and balance, not combat training."

Training under that old man changed me. With enough work, and enough smacking me on the head with a stick, I became a whole different kind of thief, much more refined. More balanced, more skillful, and much more likely to get away without getting myself caught. I wasn't a ninja – I couldn't run across a building without making a sound, I couldn't scale walls or cling to the ceiling, and I had no clue how to use any kind of weapon other than a gun, but that old man was proud of me for making such progress.

Towards the end of our long stay, I took to traveling the mountain, only to find that it was as bare of Pokémon as it was of people. That was probably due to its amazingly steep slopes. And the impossibly complex makeup of its forest. With only Silver and Shadow at my side, I got lost in the unfamiliar terrain, and stayed lost for about a week. During that week, I met two estranged Pokémon; a Sandslash whose trainer and other Pokémon had died on the mountain, and an old, very powerful Persian with green eyes and a green gem, instead of the usual red. Those two would come to be some of my closest friends, with enough time.

Sempre, as that Sandslash came to be known, proved essential in us making it back to that old ninja's camp. The Persian, with the odd name Brightstar, revealed that she could talk. First time I heard her voice, I damn near broke my nose by smacking into a tree. Some ninja's pupil I turned out to be.

There was something about that Brightstar, though, like I'd already seen her before. I knew I'd seen her oddly-colored eyes before, but I couldn't place my finger on it. I'd heard her voice, too, but decided to drop it until I was back in the human world. Still, we eyed each other every day, both of us struggling to remember something. The night before I planned to head back to the desert, we stayed up, just talking to each other, trying to figure it out. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. After a long night of getting nowhere, we fell asleep with the rest of the Pokémon, in a giant mass of fur, feathers, skin, scales, rock or steel hide, and plant material.

That was the night Lugia showed up. I knew I was dreaming when I first saw it, because there wasn't much of anything in the background, just a whole lot of dark gray fog. "The hell are you doing here?" I asked it.

The voice that answered me reverberated through my mind. A deep, commanding baritone, it was the voice of a giant, echoing and all-consuming. And yet, it seemed sad…bereaved, even. "It seems that pain and suffering have the power to turn even saviors away from the rest of the world."

Somehow, all the fight drained out of me in an instant. "I'm no savior. Those Pokémon wouldn't have needed saving if it hadn't been for me."

Lugia sighed. "If you had not been the one to steal them all, they would not have been saved. At least, in saving them, you got to make up for the part you played in their misery." Before I could say anything, he silenced me by holding out his wing. "I am well aware of your past, Wes. I have read your mind…and I truly am sorry for all the pain you've already been put through, but I must ask you to carry yet another burden on your shoulders."

My shoulders. Lovely. "And it's gotta be me?"

"Yes. Because you have purified the hearts of every Shadow Pokémon that you had a hand in creating…you know the pain they went through, and you strove to save them. Nobody else, human or Pokémon, knows about the Shadow Pokémon and has a strong enough soul to contain my power."

"Say what," I said, dumbstruck. I knew I sounded like an idiot. "You're storing your power…in me? You're out of your fuckin' mind."

I'd expected the sea's guardian to get pissed at a little human talking to him that way, but he simply shook his head. "You are my only option, Wes. Consider it your destiny, or as many humans like to say, your God-given duty."

"_I don't care if there is or isn't a God; I will get him back for this."_ Lugia must have heard my thoughts, because not a moment later, he laughed.

"You are quite the fireball, young human. I think you're fully capable of handling my power…but I must warn you, I am storing the purest part of my power in you, because I have been captured and am going to become a Shadow Pokémon in just a few hours. Because your soul is tainted with guilt, sadness, rage, and the weight of taking so many lives, it will not merge well with you. It may even attack you…so be prepared." He lowered his head, staring me straight in the eyes. "Once I have been purified, you will know. Seek me out then, and I will take back my power. Until then, though, I can say with certainty that your body will suffer."

"Well, fuck," was all I could say.

"That is not all," Lugia continued, sounding more upbeat. "My power, no matter how short its stay is, will permanently grant you some of my powers. You will be able to delve into the minds of other Pokémon and hear their thoughts. Likewise, they will be able to hear yours, if you focus on them."

I scoffed. "Now he tells me."

Instead of responding, he lowered his giant beak and touched the bridge of my nose, right in the middle of the scar Gonzap left on me. "I know you've hidden your scar because of the memories it brings you, more so than because of what people think when they look at you. Now, this scar will be a reminder of me, of Silver and Shadow, of every Pokémon you've worked so hard for. When you look in the mirror, or into the surface of a pool of water, you will not see Gonzap, and you will not feel fear. Remember me, think of the power that rests inside you, and of how many souls you've saved, rather than how many souls you've taken." He wished me luck, and faded from the dream.

I had never been a particularly healthy person. I'd had migraines since I was seven, got sick a lot, generally fevers and coughs, but often it would be something worse. Still, I had never felt as horrible as I did that night. I wasn't paying much attention to my body, though, because the whole time I was wrapped up in a whirlwind nightmare full of everything that had caused me pain in my short life. It wasn't bad enough that my life was in danger, but it was still a night of hell. A fever ravaged me, my head pounded with the most intense migraine I'd ever felt, I vomited more times than I care to remember, and the worst part of it all was the fact that I was helpless. Lugia's power…I felt like it was tearing me apart, breaking every bone in my body, slicing through every muscle, twisting every organ out of place. When I finally woke up the next morning, it was all over. Silver and Shadow stood watch over me nearby, the psychic link Lugia's power created telling me that they had seen my dream-meeting with the legendary beast and passed word of it to the rest of the Pokémon. I closed my eyes, exhausted, and slept through the day and the night, knowing that if they were there, I would be safe.

But, of course, it was just the beginning. The next morning, when I had regained enough strength to wash myself off, I noticed something odd about my reflection. Though the white paint I used to hide my scar had washed off, the scar itself was still white. It almost…glowed.

Deciding to test out my new ability, hoping I'd be able to use it so soon after receiving Lugia's power, I called to Silver. _"Hey, Silver, do you sense any of Lugia's power coming off of my scar?"_

"_Wes, is that your voice? It seems Lugia wasn't kidding." _Silver's head popped up from behind a large rock. _"Well, having never met the sea's guardian before, I don't know what Lugia's presence feels like, but there's definitely a strong, and pure, power coming off of that scar. And…a small point from the small of your back." _He jumped into the water with me, tracing a paw down my spine. _"I'd call this line of power running down your spine a support vein for the rest of the power. The scar is the point where it will be released. And…there are ten points of power I can sense all around your back, but I can't see them. Together, they form the shape of an ellipse."_

"Just like those purple ridges on Lugia's back," I mused. "And you said you can't see them?"

"_Correct. They are probably like storage cylinders. When the power builds inside of you, I would expect the support vein on your spine to funnel energy to all ten of those points. Once they have contained all they can, the scar on your face will release that power. Or at least, that is my guess." _Silver swam to shore and hopped out of the water, immediately starting to lick himself dry.

I stayed on that mountain for another two weeks while I recovered, relapsed, and recovered again, all the while wondering about the points that Silver had been talking about. During my waking hours, provided I was feeling alright, I would practice using the new power of speaking with the Pokémon through thoughts. I came to realize just how much of a personality each one of them had. Back when I couldn't hear their words, I had known that Silver is generally earnest, while Shadow leans more towards a sarcastic personality, but being able to speak to them reached a whole other level of closeness. Our bonds had never been stronger.

By the end of those two weeks, even though I was still feeling out of it, I convinced myself I'd be fine. So, I made a stupid move and took off on Talon's back, headed straight for the Orre desert. Everything ailing my body was cast from my mind the second I caught sight of the dull, dusty hills.

I hadn't seen those sand dunes in five years. I had been lost in a world of trees, rock and rivers. It was beautiful, but it wasn't home.

The desert was my new home. Its deathly-hot, lonely expanse of sand didn't conceal people waiting to attack me. The desert's sands didn't have trees. I'd had a few bad experiences with trees, including being chased up one by an unruly Growlithe, mugged repeatedly by a bunch of red-haired kids to whom the Growlithe belonged, and a few…unwelcome advances by the woman my parents had hired to be my nanny. Creepy and intuitive as she was, she never found me when I'd hidden in an underground cave I found. The first time I hid from her there, I fell asleep with the scent of wet earth surrounding me. Since then, dust, sand, rocks and soil have been my comfort zone. A lack of color, lack of life, became the place I belonged. The desert, hot as it gets, as bright as the sun is there, is my source of safety. No one can sneak up on me in the desert.

I can't ever truthfully call a place full of green my home.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Yes, I know I've said that I'm on hiatus. I'm only posting this because my beta reader Vicious-Loner and I already have the first four chapters written, and they're currently going through one final round of editing. I know re-doing this story may seem redundant, but...I just wasn't satisfied with it. At all. I'm sure every writer has had more than a few moments like that. However, we have changed quite a few important points in the story (more so in the first chapter than anywhere else), and are working to keep the plot consistent. That is, provided I have the time to write it. **  
><strong>


	2. Homecoming

Chapter 2 – Homecoming

Coming back down from the mountains, even in the heat of the day, sent a chill down my spine. As long as I'd wanted to come back, I could never be sure whether Orre was ready for my return. After all, the majority of the region had heard of me and sought to have me arrested and, most likely, killed. I found it ironic that the one day my mind was clear enough to think, it would be the day I returned to Orre with a full range of doubts. In an attempt to distract myself from those thoughts, I spent the ride listening to the tinny scratch of Talon's feathers brushing up against each other. When the old outskirt stand at the edge of the desert appeared on the horizon, though, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. I straightened, straining to see it. A kind of excitement I hadn't experienced in years flowed through me, lighting some of the old spark that isolation and suddenly being cursed had dimmed.

I was going to see Kayle again. Back when I was seventeen, our relationship had been a complete secret; while he was working, we acted as if I was simply a regular customer, perhaps a casual friend. After five lonely years without him, I no longer cared if anyone saw us together, and if they did, they'd have my Snag Machine-enhanced left hook to deal with.

"_That's a bold claim, Wes,"_ Shadow piped up, from inside his Pokéball. I realized my thoughts the moment before had been translated into telepathic speech. _"I'm sorry, was that a private thought you forgot to block us from?" _

"_Yes, it was, but it was my fault that time." _It seemed to happen more often since receiving Lugia's power, and Silver and Shadow picked up on it with the most ease out of the rest of my team. _"In any case, it's out in the open. What were you about to say?"_

"_I only meant to say that you sound confident, but we all know what your reaction will be when you see him."_

I didn't answer Shadow because, not only was he right, but Talon began descending towards the near-abandoned steam engine. Upon landing, I sent her back into her ball to rest and sent out Silver and Shadow. After taking only a few steps, I swayed and nearly fell over, but I was able to catch myself. Still I swore at myself for being unable to walk in a straight line. Fueled by anger, I was able to keep myself upright until we entered the bar. It wasn't much cooler inside, but the shift in temperature disoriented me and I fell once again.

A strong pair of arms caught me before my face hit the floor. "Whoa, there," said a familiar voice. "I'm afraid I don't start selling alcohol until six," he chided, standing me up. Placing a hand very subtly on my waist and leaning in close, he added in a whisper, "Though, I could make an exception for you."

"Go hit on some other whore, why don't you," I snapped, pushing him away with a smirk on my face. "It's good to see you, Kayle. How long's it been?" I asked, completely aware of the answer.

"Almost exactly five years since you left…missed your birthday by a week or two. I've missed you…" he sighed, leading me over to the bar. "I assume your tastes haven't changed?" he asked, changing his tone. I shook my head. He simply poured me a mug of black coffee, discreetly adding a shot of coffee and hazelnut liquors each. Silver and Shadow jumped up on the barstools on either side of me, waiting for their usual bowls of potato-cheese soup. Silver waited patiently, his tail swishing slowly from side to side, while Shadow's tail wagged furiously in anticipation. Kayle slid the spiked coffee and soup over to us, whispering to me, "This one's on the house. Consider this a cheap-ass birthday present."

"So, you've grown even more avaricious over the years, I see," I taunted.

"Not so much. You, on the other hand, are much more…vocabulous."

"Bullshit. How's that for vocabulous?" I answered. The four of us spent hours catching up, our conversation laden with false insults and unnecessarily complex words. Kayle still had to tend to his customers, but Silver, Shadow, and I filled in the space by continuing our trains of thought in a three-way mental discussion. As often as he had to leave, and as much as I tried both to hide and ignore the effects of my curse, Kayle picked up on the fact that something was wrong. It could have been the air of uncertainty that Silver and Shadow gave off, or perhaps something in my eyes, my voice, or my face gave me way. Whatever had tipped him off, he knew that I wasn't just sick. As evening began to set in, the other customers left and my fever started to rise. Earlier on, I had been able to quell my shaking, but as my temperature rose, the shaking became too violent to hide.

Finally, Kayle reached a point where he couldn't bear to watch me anymore. "Okay, spill it. What's wrong with you? And don't give me some shit like 'it's just a cold', or I'll smack you." As much as I doubted he would actually smack me, I couldn't see how telling him about my supernatural encounter could be dangerous, so I told him all I could remember. I included my theory that there were more Shadow Pokémon around, expecting a hint or a suggestion, but his reply was shocking.

"The new Shadow Pokémon are all taken care of. Some kid named Michael came to the rescue and purified them all, with the help of some chamber in his parents' lab. It's near the harbor, past Agate Village. It was pretty small back when you were around, but now it's called Gateon Port, and it's grown. At any rate, you should probably head up to that lab; Lugia was one of the Shadow Pokémon that kid Michael saved. If holding onto its power is hurting you this much, and if it's not in danger of losing that power anymore, you should go see it and ask it to take the power back."

"Well, then, I guess that's where I'm headed next," I said, having finally polished off the last drop of the coffee that had gone cold hours before. As I got up from the bar, thinking I had more strength left than I really did, I collapsed. With Kayle on the other side of the bar, and Silver and Shadow sleepy from all the food they'd gorged on, there was nothing to stop my face from making friends with the floor.

"I think it's best if I escort you there," Kayle muttered, picking me up. He carried me out bridal-style and pretended not to notice the slight angry blush playing across my face. I returned Silver and Shadow to their Pokéballs and Kayle dropped me into the sidecar of my immaculately-kept motorcycle. I handed him the keys and fell asleep with the familiar cold, dry wind of the nighttime desert whipping around my face.

When I woke up, I was lying in a bed, surrounded by warm, furry bodies. Talon slept next to the bed, her head perched on the edge, by my feet. I recognized the hotel as Pyrite town's one and only, and I relaxed a little. I spent a few minutes searching for everyone, given that we were all buried in blankets. Silver slept on my right side, his head on my chest, and Shadow lay sprawled across my legs. Zeera, my ever-warm Quilava, lay nestled between my legs and Silver's tail, curled into a ball. Sempre lay off to the side, and Brightstar lay curled around Sempre, most likely so that he wouldn't roll onto and poke anyone while we were asleep. Her silky fur hid a tough hide that could even survive sleeping in a bramble bush.

Since all seven of us touched each other at some point, the slightest movement on my behalf woke everyone else up. _"Sorry, guys,"_ I muttered sleepily, but they didn't seem to mind waking up. I realized that was because it was already noon, at least according to the hotel's bedside clock. A few minutes later, after everyone got off of me and had stretched out on the floor, Kayle came in holding a plastic bag full of bottles. "You didn't," I groaned.

"I did, and you're going to take it all," he replied firmly, approaching the bed. I took the bag from him and looked inside it.

"How much of this stuff did you buy? And what the hell is this?" I snapped, pulling out some kind of multivitamins. Upon closer inspection, I found that they were gelatinous. "Really? You bought multivitamins posing as gummy candies," I said flatly, putting it back. "Look, I know you're trying to take care of me because I can't go to a hospital, but this is over-the-top. That, and I really don't think loading me up with drugs is the way to go about this."

Kayle considered it. "You're right; it's probably not ideal, but what do you expect to be able to do if you're running a crippling fever, and stumbling around like a drunkard because of it?" He had a point; everything that had been wrong with me grew worse every day. I even developed a slight cough, which happened to kick in right then, in a fit that left me gasping for breath when it was through. "I don't like the sound of that cough…but I'll make you a deal. Just take the anti-nausea meds, the Ibuprofen, and some cough syrup. In return, I'm driving you to the Pokémon lab, dropping you off, and taking your motorcycle back to the outskirt stand. How's that sound?"

Instead of a response, I downed everything with a couple sips of coffee, packed everyone into their Pokéballs, stood up and walked out the door. Kayle snickered when I tripped over the rug by the receptionist and ended up clinging to him, saying, "And you're clinging to me like a girl because…?"

"You saw nothing," I said bluntly, walking away. He caught up with me outside.

"How are you feeling now? More, ah, sensible?"

"Yeah, thanks for that. I doubt the meds will last me long, though. The best way to deal with this is to find Lugia, at that Pokémon lab." I moved to take the keys from Kayle, but then I remembered something. "Where did you say it is?"

Kayle sighed. "Let me drive." I jumped in the sidecar and he handed me the plastic bag full of overpriced drugs. "Take those with you, in case their effects wear off."

Just as he started the engine, I noticed the gummy-vitamins in the bag. "You don't quit, do you?" I asked, glancing up at him.

He ignored me. "So, you're sure you've got a bird Pokémon who know the area well enough that you don't need this thing? If you really need it, my Charizard can take me back to the stand." I nodded, as a signal that he was in the clear, and started to fall asleep again. For the duration of the drive, I lived in some sort of limbo between awake and asleep. I registered the surroundings, and the feel of the wind, the light of the sun, and the sound of the engine, but I couldn't seem to make my body move. By the time we reached the lab, I'd already started to feel lightheaded and my fever had returned, though at nowhere near full-force. A sick, hollow ache gnawed at the pit of my stomach and I remembered how little I'd eaten since the whole Lugia incident started. Kayle parked and looked back at me, too tired to want to get out of the sidecar. "Wes," he said seriously. Whenever he started a sentence by using my name, I knew something was up. "Are you sure you're gonna be alright? Last night, you were so delirious I thought you'd completely lost your tolerance for alcohol and got piss-drunk off of one Irish coffee. Do you remember anything?"

"Shit." For once, I gave him an honest answer. "No, but I assume it was pretty bad." As if to emphasize Kayle's point, I started coughing uncontrollably, in a fit where it was all I could do to force myself to breathe. It was over in an instant, but my throat burned and my chest ached all the same.

"It was bad. That cough was worse; you even spat out a few drops of blood. And you were violently sick, stumbling around, switching between crying and throwing punches. You even started mumbling about stuff from your past. It wasn't that loud, and ours was the only room taken that night, but if someone had heard you, it would have sounded like you were being tortured." He stared me down and touched my face. "I don't want to leave you here alone," he said sadly, in a tone I'd never heard from him before. "I've gone so long without seeing you, or hearing your voice, and I only got to spend two days and a hellish night with you."

Kayle was right. Everything that was happening wasn't fair either to me, or to him. "I'll be back, Kayle, and when I come back, I'll be healthy enough to have sex with you." He raised an eyebrow at me, pissed because I ruined the moment. "You know you were thinking about that, subconsciously."

"Blunt as always," Kayle replied. "Seems the years have only made you more ballsy."

I found my lips twisting into a smirk, in spite of myself. "Hey, you get what you paid for. Not that you paid for me…or did you?"

"I'm paying for it now," Kayle finished. His expression quickly changed. "Just don't die, okay?"

I hopped out, letting Silver and Shadow out of their balls. "You know me better than that. I'm not going down without a fight. And these two would never let me go that easily." Kayle and I stared at each other, an unspoken promise hidden within our locked gaze, and he turned around and drove off on my motorcycle. Silver, Shadow, and I headed inside the lab. A receptionist waited at a desk placed awkwardly in the center of the room, with light filtering through the giant panes of glass that made up the front of the building. I saw her lips move, but heard no words. My head pounded, my world tilted, and then everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Alas, yet more changes be made! Though, I feel like this chapter got cut a little short. Either that, or the first chapter is disproportionately long. Ah, well, what does it matter?

So, courses from 4-10 PM on Tuesdays. I'm okay with that, though; it would suck ten times worse if it was on a Monday or a Friday night. However, seeing as I write my best (and fastest) at night, that cuts one more day of good writing out of the week. Still, chapters 3 and 4 should be up in a few days, and by then I'll probably be forced to do more work and stop checking up on here as often. (**  
><strong>


	3. Encounter

Chapter 3 – Encounter

"_I was sort of excited about coming back, you know? We've been gone for a long time,"_ Shadow's voice echoed through the walls of my mind, _"but, after all this…" _

"_Yes, it's quite depressing," _Silver answered. As always, in his professionalism, he sounded insincere. _"If Wes doesn't come out of this…I fear we will follow him. Although, I might be alright with that."_ My eyes opened then, but nothing else would move.

"_What? I have no idea what you're talking about," _Shadow replied.

"_I can't say for sure, but I think we've all established a strong enough connection that, if one of us dies, the other two will follow. However, no suffering of Wes's has been transferred to us. I suspect it's because Lugia's power cannot hurt us, due to the fact that we're Pokémon," _Silver answered. _"Despite our exposure to Wes's twisted mind for years, our souls have maintained a high level of purity,"_ Silver joked.

My mind fully awake, I jumped into the conversation. _"My mind's not that twisted. And you guys are a pure as I am buff."_

"_Well, we were normal Pokémon up until we gained the ability to speak to each other like this. Now, we've become humanized, though I suppose that's not a bad thing,"_ Silver answered. I looked around the room, as much as I could considering I couldn't easily move my neck, and figured out that I was taken to a room where someone lived, or routinely slept. From the hangings on the ceiling, I figured the room belonged to a young boy, perhaps a preteen.

Straining my neck, I looked over at Shadow. _"What happened back there? I can't remember much."_

"_You…were unconscious. Seems those medicines Kayle left you weren't all that effective. The people here took a sample of your blood, analyzed it, and left medicines that they think will be more effective. Most of them are prescription drugs, but one of the scientists here is a human doctor, and he approved." _Shadow turned his head to show me where all the medicines were.

"_I know it looks like a lot, and you wanted to avoid drugs, but we can't have you passing out every other day," _Silver chimed in. _"They took your clothes, as well, and are currently washing them. The staff here have checked your identification, and though they didn't seem to think you dangerous or suspicious, they confiscated your Snag Machine."_

"_Well, that's understandable," _I reminded them. _"It's considered a criminal instrument. Hey…didn't they leave me any clothes?"_

Shadow's eyes closed. His laugh echoed through the walls of my mind. _"Well, they're a little short on clothes that are your size. They said all the spare lab coats got destroyed in a chemical accident, because they were left with some crazy inventor who lives a little ways off. Unfortunately, none of them walk around carrying an extra pair of pants, especially not anything your size. All they could find was that child-size lab coat over there. They're washing your clothes as fast as they can, but you have to admit, washing them in mountain stream water for five years wasn't the best way to take care of them."_

I rolled my eyes. These guys were trying. I appreciated their gesture…but I would have appreciated a longer lab coat a lot more. At least they'd left me a pair of boxer-briefs. Upon putting on the small lab coat, I saw why they'd avoided actual boxers – they would have been longer than the coat was. I looked at myself in a small mirror, slightly dumbstruck at how much the tiny lab coat left exposed. The sleeves barely made it over my elbows, and maybe half my thighs were covered. Though it tightened around my shoulders and hips, it was fairly loose everywhere else. I sighed at my fragile, almost feminine build.

"_You really have gotten skinny,"_ Shadow cackled. Silver let a small smile show and followed him into the corner opposite me. _"I was gonna offer to go with you, but I don't have a good enough poker face."_

"_You know what, you were never coming along anyway," _I told him. The power issue was between Lugia and me. I didn't want Silver or Shadow getting involved, on the off-chance that they could get hurt.

I had to find Lugia, for the sake of my self-worth, without being seen. I used what I'd learned in my five years of what was practically ninja training to get around. I was surprised at how much I managed, after just recovering from a fainting spell. I felt revitalized, and as I pressed my back into the corner of a wall, sneaky. Like a ninja, only clumsier.

I explored everywhere I could, looking for some sign of either Lugia or my clothes. When I found nothing on the top floor, I hid under a bed so I could rest and plan how to get through the elevator. The sun was just beginning to set, which was good for me, but there was nowhere to hide in an elevator. I came to the conclusion that it relied solely on luck, slid out from underneath the bed, and positioned myself in a shadowy corner. Just as I was about to make my move, the doors opened. I pinned myself to the wall, listening in on their conversation.

"You hear about that guy the secretary found? The DNA specialists analyzed his blood and found traces of Pokémon DNA in it. They think it came from Lugia, specifically, the one Michael caught and purified. I was on my way to bring him down to the lab for a couple more tests, but they say he looks like a ruffian. He probably won't come quietly."

"_Damn straight,"_ I thought to myself, slipping inside the elevator as they turned the corner.

From inside the elevator, I heard one of the two scientists say, "Yeah, I heard he was carrying a prototype Snag Machine. Heavy, cumbersome, and completely without a Shadow Scope."

"Then, you don't suppose he could be...?"

As the doors closed, I heard the first guy respond, "Yes, I believe he's the person who originally saved the Shadow Pokémon…though there have been rumors about how pure his intentions were. He was – hey, where'd he go?" The doors closed before they'd had the chance to see me, but I was sure they'd turned around to see that someone had taken the elevator down.

"_Shit."_ My pulse quickened, and as tired as I'd started to feel, my old thief reflexes kicked in, keeping me alert and bringing on a wave of paranoia. Somehow, I didn't quite believe any scientists who were genuinely interested in helping me posed a threat, but they seemed to be a little scared of me. I wondered why that was. It's not like I would have punched someone's lights out or anything.

As the doors opened, I dashed out and hid in a corner to catch my breath. Logic told me to act cool and simply ask someone if I could get my clothes back, but instinct told me to run. Much unlike the choice I would have made prior to my training in the mountains, I listened to instinct. It had a greater tendency to be right. Still, the whole area was lit with light from the setting sun, staining the normally white tile the color of a blood orange, adding to the stress on my sleep-derived brain. When the elevator doors behind me opened, I panicked and dashed forward, blinded by the light streaming in from the glass. I collided with someone, heard his grunt as we both hit the floor. We both fell backwards, both our heads striking the tile. I lay on the ground, dazed, swearing, and pressing both hands to the back of my head. When my vision cleared, I saw he was in a similar position, but I came to realize that I couldn't move.

I panicked. My body felt cold, heavy, burnt out. What if it was over? What if I was dying? Death had chased me for just over two weeks straight, following in the wake of Lugia's power, and I was certain it had finally pinned me. And then, out of nowhere, I felt it. Lugia's presence. I knew I would survive, and slowly I gained control of my body again. Heat returned to what was only seconds earlier almost stone-cold. However, my motion was limited to blinking at that very moment.

"Hey, are you okay?" a deep voice asked. A pair of strong arms grabbed my shoulders. "Hey, wake up! You might have a concussion!" He then proceeded to shake me, which would only have made the situation worse if I had a concussion. A kid's voice joined his.

"Don't do that! He's wearing nothing but a lab coat. That means he's being studied, and he could be really sick." The hands grasping me immediately let go. In his rush to not hurt me, the man who'd picked me up ended up dropping me four inches farther away from the ground than I would have liked. The kid ran over to me and looked me in the eye. "…Who are you? I feel like I've seen you somewhere…like on a report about the Shadow Pokemon." When I didn't respond, he looked over his shoulder and called for the scientists. In that moment, I made my move. Sensing which of the Pokéballs on his belt contained Lugia, I snatched it and, after nearly dropping the damned thing, released the beast inside it. The kid turned around, shocked. Lugia, once released, took up almost all the space there was to offer in the area. His tail ran the length of the hallway and curled into an adjacent room, and he craned his neck and kept his wings tucked tightly by his sides, but didn't seem all that uncomfortable. Every human in the room froze, with the exception of me. I managed to inch my way across the floor, but was still too weak to stand. So, I craned my neck up, staring him straight in the face. Anger rose from deep inside me, raging hotter than the fever I'd been stuck with. My breath caught in my lungs, and I wondered if I might not experience another horribly-timed coughing fit. Before I could say anything, though, he dropped his eyes.

"I must apologize to you, Wes," he began. His voice was physically present, yet created through psychic power. "I had no idea my power would ravage your body the way it has. That said, it has become too strongly fused with your soul for me to remove. If I tried, you would most likely die. Even if I succeeded, your soul would become displaced from your body, while staying trapped inside it. You would be conscious, yet in a permanent vegetative state." He waited for the information to sink in. "Are you still going to ask me to take my power back?"

"I…guess not." I shook my head, feeling weak again. I sank to the ground and he slid a clawless foot forward for me to lean against.

Lugia's face looked down at me with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. "I can, however, temporarily ease your physical ailments. Sadly, that is the only help I can offer. Once my protection wears off, you will continue to feel as horrible as you have, and it is sure to worsen. However, when you truly come out of it, you will have gained powers no human has ever possessed. You will, in essence, become a Pokémon. Now, that's not a bad deal, is it?" He asked warmly, touching his beak to my white scar. Instantly, I felt complete relief from the fever that had started to come back, as well as everything else. Finally able to stand up straight with no real effort, I thanked him wholeheartedly before he disappeared back inside his ball.

"Would someone mind telling us what just happened?" one of the scientists asked. I turned my shoulder towards him, but refused to face him. It was the same scientist who had come to get me, and was currently carrying a syringe full of liquid. Simply because of that, I didn't trust him.

"You asking out of personal or professional interest?" I responded coldly. When he couldn't provide an answer, I scoffed at him. "Not surprising. Can I get my clothes back yet?"

"Er, yes. We've checked them for any dangerous substances, and they should have been cleaned by now," he responded, a little put-off by my attitude. Not that I blamed him, but damnit, I wanted my pants back.

"Then go get 'em. This lab coat's shorter than a cocktail dress," I snapped. The kid and the dark-skinned guy behind me snickered. The scientists talked amongst themselves, seemed to come to the conclusion that it would be best not to let me walk around their lab looking like a male hooker, and left. I turned to the other two, particularly interested in the boy. I could have sworn I'd seen him somewhere before, as well, but there was more to it than that. He and I were similar.

"Do you know why your picture would be in a lab report?" the kid asked. His giant, forest green eyes stared up at me. Those eyes, and his flaming red hair…I knew where I'd seen him before. News flash, on the small-screen in the Outskirt Stand, during one of Kayle's many breaks in our conversation. He was Michael, the kid who had saved the recent outbreak of Shadow Pokémon.

"I could guess, but you're the kid who saved the most recent wave of Shadow Pokémon, am I right?"

The kid nodded. "My name's Michael. And, you're in the report, because…?"

"I'm the one who saved the first wave, five years ago. The name's Wes." I turned to the other guy. "And you are?"

The man with dark skin and slits for eyes gave me a weird look. As humorous as I found it, I kept my mouth shut and my face neutral. "I'm Brock. I'm a Pokémon breeder from the Kanto region. The head of this lab, Professor Krane, sent for Kanto's leading Pokémon scientist, Professor Oak, to sell him some equipment, when the second wave of Shadow Pokémon first appeared. I was already at the lab when he got the message, so he sent me along with the equipment. Since Kanto and Orre are so far away from each other, though, everything was already settled by the time I got here, so I'm just touring the lab and making sure Professor Krane doesn't need anything else from Professor Oak. I didn't spend two weeks on a boat for nothing, after all." We shook hands, but my mind was on Michael, and the information he had. He noticed me looking his way and stared back.

"You want to know about what happened this time around, don't you? Let's go somewhere and sit," he said warmly, gesturing us over to a table in the next room. "The first thing that happened was this ship, the S.S. Libra, was stolen right off the water, by a Shadow Lugia, the one you just talked to, and that ship was completely full of Pokémon. Cipher made Lugia the one un-purifiable Shadow Pokémon, but all the ones they stole from the ship were regular Shadow Pokémon. I managed to purify Lugia using this lab's Purification Chamber."

"And what about Team Snagem?" I asked. "Surely they had some part in all this."

"You know about them, too?" he asked, surprised. "Actually, I teamed up with them. Their leader, this scary guy called Gonzap, took my Snag Machine. He gave it back to me because it was too small, and then we cut a deal." I shuddered, simply and the memory of Gonzap's ugly mug. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I lied. "I have a past with both Team Snagem and Cipher. I feel neither group got the ass-whopping they deserved, is all."

Brock chose then to cut into the conversation. "You seem a little too bitter to just 'have a past' with these guys. What'd they do to you?"

I sighed. I hated having to tell pieces of my life story, because it always made me feel melodramatic. Then again, my past was pretty fucked up. "You sure you want to know, Brock?" I asked him, trying to convince him not to lend me his ears. "Fair warning, most of my life is a bit of a pity story, and it tends to turn people off."

Brock shook his head. "Everyone has their fair share of problems, well, almost everyone. Come on, try me."

I sat back and crossed my arms and my legs, wishing I could be wearing a fucking pair of pants, but the scientists had yet to come back. "When I was thirteen, I ran away from home. For good. I somehow got lost in Eclo Canyon, this desolate place on the eastern edge of the desert, and that's where Team Snagem's leader, Gonzap, found me. Back then, I was scared of pretty much everything, but I didn't show it. Instead, I used aggression to mask my fear, and it was that same aggression that lead me to the top of the organization, as Gonzap's right-hand man. I was the best Snagger the team ever had, and so the boss and I had a simple relationship. The more Pokémon I stole, the more money they made, and the safer my Pokémon and I were. That went on for four years, until Gonzap teamed up with the leader of Cipher."

Michael's look of surprise compelled me to stop. "You mean Greevil was around back then?"

"I've never heard the name, but I heard rumors that Evice, the leader as far as I knew, might not have been the actual leader. Someone seemed to think there was somebody even higher, pulling strings from a safe distance. It's possible that this Greevil guy was leading from the shadows, but don't quote me on it. At any rate, they designed the first portable Snag Machine, and in exchange for its use, we had to bring them a whole bunch of Pokémon. I didn't think anything of it at the time and stole our target's Pokémon like always, with a new and improved Snag Machine. Before we left the hideout, Gonzap told me that there were certain rules we had to follow while stealing the Pokémon to be handed over to Cipher, but I didn't bother to think what that could have meant." I stopped. If I went any further, I'd end up revealing my most dangerous secret, and probably end up in prison for the rest of my life. Brock and Michael were good people, but I just didn't trust them with that kind of information.

"What did he want you to do?" Michael pressed. Just then, the scientists came back with all my stuff. I pushed my chair back and stood up.

"Finally. Took you guys long enough," I said coldly, taking everything in my arms. "So, if you guys would all clear the room, that'd be great." The scientists and Brock left, but Michael stayed behind. "That means you too, kid."

Michael scowled at the name 'kid'. "When you first came here, you couldn't have even dressed yourself. Are you sure you're okay?"

I put my stuff down on the table, and decided I could shed the tough act for the kid, just a little. "No, but I'm coordinated enough to put some clothes on, at least for now. You heard what Lugia said, so I'm not so sure about what lies ahead." I paused, but he still wouldn't leave. I got the feeling he was waiting for confession or something, so instead of telling him to fuck off, I gave him the truth. "The truth is, I'm scared. Lugia seemed sure that I'm not going to die because of this, but I'm not. The last few weeks have been a nightmare for me, in my waking hours and when I'm asleep. Sometimes, I can't even get a grip on reality. Or, I'm so delirious that I'll do a bunch of stuff, and suffer through a night of hellish sickness, and not remember a thing the next morning. I mean, shit like that can't be good for your long-term health, you know? My future is both bleak and uncertain at this point...and it's starting to get to me."

Michael looked at the ground, then up at me. "I'm sorry. I'd be scared, too, if I were you. But if you keep worrying about dying, and never thinking about the fact that you'll basically turn into a Lugia once you're better, it'll make that part that much worse." Without warning, he turned back from the door frame and hugged me, then walked out the door, stopping just outside the threshold.

I had frozen up, the sudden human contact bringing back memories I never wanted to revisit. I told myself, _"One, he's just a kid. He's not gonna hurt you. Two, he's an ally. We hardly know each other, but he's a good person. A good kid, damnit. Get those other little fuckers out of your mind. Right now."_

He looked at me, eyes wide and shining. I figured he'd just chalked up my stiffness to fear of what lay ahead. And I was perfectly fine with that. Still, I appreciated the gesture. As he pressed the button commanding the sliding doors to close, he smiled at me and said, "I think you'll make it."

I appreciated the words even more. As the doors closed, and I felt the presence of all my Pokémon waiting inside their Pokéballs, I whispered to myself, "Yeah, so do I."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Wes just went through an entire chapter, from start to finish, without wearing any pants. Perhaps he secretly likes wearing booty-shorts? :P

SO MUCH COLLEGE WORK. DX I may or may not be able to get chapter 4 up this week. I'm going on a little weekend trip, which means I only have one day to get my homework done for my Monday class. I'm sure that, once I get more used to the swing of college, I'll be able to update more quickly.

Also, shout-out to Vicious-Loner, reader of the original To be A Master and volunteer beta reader for this, the updated story. With her backing me up, you all can be sure this one will actually get finished, despite the impossibly long plan we have for it. We hope you stick with the story. To those of you who do, it'll be worth your while. ;)


	4. Corruption

Chapter 4 – Corruption

As I came out, finally fully dressed, a force slammed into me from behind. Something invisible. I lay on the floor yet again, grumbling. _"The hell?" _I thought to myself. _"Any of you guys feel that just now?"_

"_Wes,"_ Silver's voice came through as a sigh of relief. _"Shadow and I are fine, as are Brightstar and Sempre, but Talon and Zeera just froze up. They're stirring now, and it looks like there's a battle on the way. I can't talk for much longer, but I believe I know what caused this. We'll all meet you on the first floor once we've subdued the others."_

"_Don't let any other ex-Shadow Pokémon out of their Pokéballs,"_ Shadow warned. _"That probably includes both sets of them. Don't let that kid send any of his loose, either."_

"_Got it," _I answered, closing the psychic link. When we weren't in visual range of each other, the connection functioned a little like a cell phone, one that was always on and included more than two people. I had been so focused on talking to Silver and Shadow that I spent the whole time lying motionless on the floor. Right as I thought something along the lines of "oh shit, I should probably get up before they all think I'm dead", before I could make the move to actually get up, everyone came running over. Someone, presumably one of the scientists, started freaking out, and thought I was dead. _"I really must be psychic,"_ I thought to myself.

Brock placed a hand on my shoulder, hindering the whole process of getting up even more. "Hey, are you okay? Do you feel faint?" A dark presence filled the room. It was something beyond just negative emotions, beyond even evil intent, and it hovered in the air, visible as a thick purple mist. Surprisingly, nobody else seemed to see it. I didn't get it; I had never been able to see the auras of Shadow Pokémon, yet I could see the physical form of the force that poisoned them. I could feel it, a chill that I couldn't shake. "Wes?" Brock asked again.

I shot up. "Don't let any of the Shadow Pokémon loose," I said firmly, though the mist was causing me to panic. "Even if they've been purified, if they were Shadow Pokémon at any point, they've been affected."

Everyone looked confused. I then realized that I was the only human in the building that understood what was going on. Some of the other Pokémon came running down, darting past us, heading for a room to the right. "Why are they all going to the Purification Chamber?" Michael wondered aloud. "Wait…are you saying all the Shadow Pokémon have been transformed again?"

I nodded. "Yes, but this time it's much worse. My Pokémon upstairs told me that the two Shadow Pokémon in our party have gone crazy. There's a battle going on up there right now. I think this is more than just reverting them back into Shadow Pokémon. This is corruption of the soul," I said through a grimace, realizing it as I said it. Seething with anger, I felt a power rising inside me. Darkness. Despair. Rage. Hatred. Pain. Confusion. Insanity. Bloodlust. Just then, Lugia broke out of its Pokéball and destroyed the glass wall, escaping from the building. I noticed that its coloring had changed from white to a dark, bluish purple. I could also see the angry red, but strangely black, aura burning around it. There was no time to wonder why my eyes suddenly had the power to see the special energy of Shadow Pokémon; Lugia fired off dark beams that moved like currents of air, a Shadow version of his Aeroblast attack, and they destroyed all in their path. If he wasn't stopped quickly, both the lab and the forest would become as flat and desolate as the rest of Orre. I ran outside, barely thinking. My mind was a blur.

Lugia's blazing red eyes stared at me, the empty, white irises freezing me to the spot. Terror washed over me, yet I still felt compelled to join him. Snapping myself out of it, I called to the four Pokémon up in the lab, _"Get down here, you guys. Lugia's free, and he's destroying everything."_

"_Silver and I are on our way," _Shadow answered. _"Zeera KO'd Talon, and Brightstar's taking care of Zeera. She'll come down with us once she's got them both unconscious. Sempre's volunteered to guard them."_ I focused on their power, their purity. The Shadow energy wafting around us hadn't worked its way into their minds like it had mine. I looked up at the raging legendary bird. His power, still in its purest form, rested with me. Maybe, if I could give it back somehow, it would be enough to break the curse on him for good. Even with no hard evidence supporting the idea, I had to believe that it would work. Even so, there remained the problem of approaching a 17-foot tall dragon-bird with an arsenal of both long- and short-range attacks, including Hydro Pump, Iron Tail, and Earthquake.

Suddenly, Silver and Shadow burst out of the wreckage that was the receptionist's area and opened fire on Lugia, using attacks like Hyper Beam and Shadow Ball. Despite its strength, Lugia fell after only a few short minutes of battle with my old friends. I ran over to the fallen bird, acting completely on impulse, and pressed my forehead to his.

The sensation that filled me was indescribable. My body went cold, completely paralyzed, but my soul began to burn, with the conflict of extreme darkness and extreme purity as Lugia's soul and mine merged. It all happened in a matter of seconds, but when it was over, both of us lay on the forest floor, exhausted and barely moving. _"Hey, Lugia," _I asked, too tired to speak normally. _"What just happened?"_

"_I must thank you," _he responded, also too tired to project his mind-voice into physical sound, _"for saving me once more. In short, you shot your soul through mine, they merged, and the unity purified my soul. My power, contained in your soul, eliminated the darkness, but you don't have a large enough amount to destroy it all. You must have absorbed some of it, yet you seem no worse for the wear. Humans truly are astonishing."_

"_What? How could I, though?" _

"_It seems my power has begun to change you. It has infused you with the power to identify and purify Shadow Pokémon. I recommend, however, that you open the doors to their hearts as much as possible before you try it again. Even a human's soul can't take the strain of touching a hundred or so Pokémon souls, especially if this level of darkness is involved. You need adequate rest between each purification, as well."_

I considered the warning, when something that should have been obvious came to mind. _"Why can't I just use the Relic Stone in Agate Village, or the Purification Chamber here?"_

"_What I just felt was not the same as my original corruption – what I believe the humans call Reverse Mode – but you already knew that, didn't you?" _I thought the state was called Hyper Mode, but it was likely the two waves were slightly different. _"In any case, it was not only that I became heartless, but I was also mindless. All I felt was rage, the need to destroy, and my rational mind had no power over my actions. I doubt conventional methods of purification will work, but feel free to try, if you wish."  
><em>

"_If it doesn't work, though, that means I have to purify all of Michael's Pokémon, too?" _Lugia nodded weakly beside me. _"If I join my soul to theirs, will they still want to go back to him?"_

Lugia's eyes closed, presumably in thought. _"It is very likely that they will go with you, as the majority of them were purified by way of the Purification Chamber, and spent little to no time befriending him. Those that he purified at the Relic Stone will stay with him, especially if he continued to care for them after they were purified. Even then, you must forge an equally strong bond to effectively purify them; you only purified me because the essence of my soul was already joined to yours. There is no guarantee they will want to leave and go back to their original trainer, simply because you were not the first one to show them kindness or the first to save them."_

I groaned internally. I didn't want to take all of Michael's Pokémon. He was strong enough to be the bigger man in the situation, and would probably hand them over, but he wouldn't be happy about it. I felt like a thief all over again, and wondered if there might be some way to get his Pokémon to stay with him. If one or two of them truly preferred me though, then I had no right to ruin their happiness, especially after going though the hell of becoming a Shadow Pokémon twice in their lives.

Silver and Shadow sat by the two of us, and touched their noses to my face, leaving behind two small, wet marks. Humans came running over, Brock and Michael among them. I finally noticed that Lugia had returned to its original form. He closed his eyes and sighed. _"You're tired, aren't you? And here you are, playing it off like you're not…"_ I observed.

"_As are you…I leave myself in your hands, my new trainer. When we have both recovered, you may give me a nickname, like the rest of your partners."_

"_I'll come up with something good," _I promised him. Like before, I felt hands grab me, heard others' voices, but my brain failed to register any of it. Lugia's protection over me began to fade, and I could feel the negative side-effects of housing his power creeping up on me. Worse yet, my whole body ached as if I'd been hit by a tidal wave, and the pain washed over me again and again, to the pulse of my heartbeat. Weakened from the return of the negative effects of Lugia's power, and wiped out from the purification, I let myself go. Sleep was inevitable, anyway, and I had a conversation to finish.

Not a minute later, Lugia came to me in a dream. Unlike our first metaphysical encounter, he lay beside me on the ground, as opposed to flying. His physical form was probably still unconscious, though his voice echoed through the walls of my mind, strong and resonant as before. _"This is exactly why you must warm up to a Pokémon's heart before breaking the lock on its door. As I said before, you only managed this time because you purified me with my own power. Should you attempt to purify another Pokémon without going through the necessary steps, you will suffer more than simply absorbing some of the darkness of its soul. While that darkness does put you at risk, the process itself poses a more immediate danger. You and I could have both died back there. You could end up killing yourself and the Pokémon if you are not careful." _

"_You said you gave me the power because I was the only person on hand, but I think you actually had two options, and you chose me in order to save Michael the pain of it all," _I answered truthfully. I bore no resentment towards him; my body may have been damaged beyond complete repair, but I got the chance at another adventure in my life. I had a reason to live again. That alone was priceless, and the price for it all was something I was willing to pay. I'd have taken the pain a hundred times over to be able to get back into action. _"We'll have to leave Orre, won't we?"_ I asked, myself more than him, but I wanted his answer.

"_The people here do not remember you very clearly, but some will recognize you. The police are among that number, so yes, it would be ideal to leave. That is not to say you cannot come back later, after you have saved all the Shadow Pokémon and shut down the culprit behind this assault, and cleared your name. Then, you can go on to do whatever you please with your life. Perhaps you could become a show battler – I have encountered very few people who understand us as well as you, and regardless of skill or experience, that accounts for something." _He looked at me and smiled. Warmth swelled within me. I knew then that, if I forged bonds as strong as what I already had with Lugia, I wouldn't be able to let them go unless the Pokémon were truly determined to return to Michael. It was so wrong of me, but the love drew me in. It was a drug to me, because I hadn't felt so much of it at any point in my life. I felt Silver, Shadow, and Brightstar's presences with us, and though the dream faded, I was able to rest in complete comfort. There were no nightmares. I slept better that night than I had in my whole life. Early the next morning, I woke with everyone but Zeera and Talon piled on top of me. I lay there in peace, wishing it could last forever. I knew that, when the sun rose, it would be over, but until then, I planned to milk it for all its worth.

When the time came that we had to wake up, we did so slowly, taking in everything that had happened. Our group of seven had been together for so long that Zeera and Talon's absence affected us deeply. Waking up in a smaller pile of bodies, without Zeera's fiery warmth and Talon's steely body to absorb and reflect it, the world felt just a little colder.

Brightstar took charge, nudging everyone awake. "Come on, you all," she muttered. "There are Shadow Pokémon to save, and we must start by helping out Zeera and Talon. Wes, you said that either the Purification Chamber here or the Relic Stone in…Amber Village?"

"Agate," I corrected. As powerful, mature, and supposedly "wise" Brightstar was, her long-term memory and navigation skills left a lot to be desired. It was, of course, the reason nobody knew where she was originally from.

"Both structures have been used to purify them in the past, correct?" I nodded. "Then we start there."

"It's not that simple, Brightstar," I reminded her. "The Relic Stone only has enough power to purify a Pokémon whose heart is fully ready to be opened again. It can only undo the final lock on a heart that's had the time to heal. And I'm not sure how the Purification Chamber works, but I would assume it's also not an insta-cure."

"Well, then," she answered, "I suppose the best thing to do is start training up these Pokémon. I don't like the sound of that Purification Chamber – if they plan to use machinery to cure the ailments of a closed heart, then you're the wrong man for the job…am I right?"

It wasn't a question. Those slitted eyes, green and dazzling, were irresistible. Nobody I knew could win an argument with Brightstar, or avoid her subtle way of manipulating people. "Of course. However, I want to talk with the other humans for a while. I think I have a way to make this endeavor just a little bit more interesting."

A couple hours later, I sat at a table with Michael, Brock, and the lab's head scientist Professor Krane, downing a cup of coffee with some of the meds Kayle had given me. For the most part, they seemed to work, so I kept them with me. I'd described my situation for the most part, and when it came down to negotiating with Michael, he simply smiled and said he'd do anything to save the Shadow Pokémon.

"They've already suffered so much…they've felt things that normal Pokémon probably can't understand. But, if any of them are still attached to me, I want them back."

I let myself smile then, despite all the dark possibilities, thoughts of things that could and probably would go wrong. Michael…was a good kid. I reached over and placed a hand on his head. "You know, the Shadow Pokémon around here are real lucky. They got a guy like you as their trainer."

"Eh? What makes you say that?" he asked, thrown off by my sudden change in demeanor.

I opened my eyes and made direct eye contact with him. "It's because you care. You are one of the few people in this world who looks at a Pokémon and sees a person, not a pet, not even necessarily a friend, but a person. Someone you have to build a bond with. You know that a human can't just capture a Pokémon and a bond will develop between them. It takes work, just like with human relationships. You see that we're not all that different, Pokémon and humans. I never would have even considered it when I was your age." I removed my hand and took a sip of coffee from the mug. I adopted a more serious tone and continued. "You'll never be a Pokémon master…because you know that they're not just friends who will fight or compete for you. You would never try to become the master of all your human friends…"

"So why do people try to become the masters of their Pokémon?" Michael finished.

I nodded. "Exactly."

"But…you're the same." That comment caught my attention. I looked at him, slightly stunned. Did he really think so highly of me? "I mean, you sleep in a pile of Pokémon every night. You let them out of the Pokéballs every chance you get, and you have conversations with them as if you always had six humans by your side instead. What makes you think you're any different from someone like me? Why do you think that a kid like me has more potential than you?"

Sharp kid. I couldn't believe he'd read so much into my words. "Maybe it's because I'm older. Because I'm not a kid anymore, no matter how much I might look like it. I've had the chance to screw up and hurt people, including my friends. Including Shadow and Silver. Maybe, ten years from now, you'll be thinking the same thing, staring into the eyes of some other twelve-year-old with the sun shining behind him, hoping to hell that he won't have his spirits crushed. Even though you know that, someday, it will happen. The world isn't that nice."

Brock, in an attempt to steer the conversation away from such a dark direction, stood up then. "Look, you two can continue this discussion on the way back to Pallet Town. I'd like you two to meet Professor Oak, and he could have an idea of how to save more Shadow Pokémon at once, or at least make their suffering less while they're waiting to be saved. That, and I think he'd like to hear what you guys have to say on the issue of Shadow Pokémon."

"And how do you plan to get there?" I pointed out. "I thought you said it took two weeks' worth of riding on a boat to get over here from Kanto. Somehow, I doubt the three of us have that much money to burn."

Brock took out a Pokéball. "Not to worry. Inside here is a Kadabra. Professor Oak has an Alakazam in his lab, and the two Pokémon are quite familiar with each other."

While Brock was talking, I was speaking with the Kadabra inside the ball. _"So, this Alakazam back at Professor Oak's lab…"_

"Wes?"

"That's interesting. This Kadabra and the Alakazam at the lab are brothers," I told him. "Oak's definitely smart. However, this Kadabra is young. Kanto is incredibly far away…especially if we're heading for Pallet Town. Though, I guess it'd be worse if we were heading for Johto."

Brock gave me a quizzical look. "How do you know all this?"

For a second, I thought I'd slipped up, revealed too much about myself, but I told myself to cool it. "What, did you think I was born here? No one who lives here is originally from Orre, well, except for Michael," I said, flashing a grin at the kid. He responded with a playful glare. "We all migrated here. I just happened to come from Kanto."

"Well, it's good that we have someone who knows the terrain of both regions. Now, what were you saying about the Kadabra being young?"

Right. That. We were talking about something. "He's too young to make the trip, even with his brother acting as a wireless receiver, directing him straight to Pallet. We'll need some other psychic-type Pokémon."

"You're the only one in the party who has any psychic-types," Michael said. "Remember, all our Shadow Pokémon, except for Lugia, should be considered out of commission until we can help them. Asking a Shadow Pokémon to do this would just drive them insane."

"Yeah, you're right." I thought for a moment, automatically considering Silver, but I wasn't sure if even he could make it to the west side of Kanto in one go. Shadow had some impressive psychic abilities, too, considering his being a dark-type, but they'd still probably need help. "We'll use Silver, Shadow, and Lugia."

"Where is Lugia, anyway?"

Instead of being sarcastic, I cut him a break. "I've already got six Pokémon with me. That means he's in the PC."

"Oh…right." His face screamed, _"I knew that, what are you talking about," _to anyone who bothered to look.

"Could you ask Professor Kane to transfer all of our Pokémon into the international system? I mean all of them, guys. In order to put as little stress as possible on all the Pokémon that will be actively transporting us, only those four should be with us when we teleport." I looked at them, and they nodded. "We can get them back once we're at Oak's lab."

Once we agreed on everything, we all headed back into the lab to rearrange the party. Once everything had been arranged and we were back outside, Brock and I let the four transporter Pokémon out of their Pokéballs and we waited while they gathered their concentration. Silver and Shadow sat on either side of the Kadabra, while Lugia stood behind them, wings outstretched. Michael finally came out, with a woman and a young girl on either side of him. The woman whispered something to him, and the little girl refused to let go of him, despite the large smile on her face. I would later learn that the woman had been his mother, Lily, and the girl was his sister, Jovi.

"So, Wes, why are we using Shadow?" Michael asked me, hugging Jovi back and persuading her to let go. "It's okay, Jovi, I'll be back soon."

I waited until she backed off before answering him. "Shadow may be a dark-type, but he has some powerful psychic attacks. Also, he and Silver aren't just brothers; they're twins. They hatched at the exact same time. Because of that, neither of them is at full power when they're separated." I could have gone on to say that I'd been born on the same day that they had hatched, but I decided to save that little detail for later, when he and Brock would be more inclined to believe my true and crazy stories.

"We're ready," Lugia announced, grabbing everyone's attention. "Please come stand in between these three and myself. We're making a psychic circle, and everyone in it will go to Pallet Town." As we all proceeded, he asked, "It's just the three of you? I was under the impression that Professor Krane was coming, as well."

"Nope," Michael answered. "He has to stay here and help the other scientists figure out what the source of that shockwave was. He thinks it seems odd that one transmission could suddenly corrupt all the Shadow Pokémon at once like that, so he's calling in professors from other regions. Professor Oak has a reason to stay in Pallet, though, so we're still going over there."

Lugia nodded. "I understand. You three, Wes especially, will feel some impact from the amount of power we're going to use. We'll be very careful not to hurt you, but I thought I should warn you."

"Thanks for the tip," I answered. "Now, let's go."

A psychic signal of mirth reached me. Lugia couldn't physically smile, but his energy signature didn't lie. _"Impatient, as always," _he told me privately. The four Pokémon counted down over the psychic link, which I could hear, so I was the best prepared when we were suddenly jerked off our feet. Moments later, we all landed on the ground. The Kadabra had nearly passed out, and Silver and Shadow lay on their sides, breathing heavily. Even Lugia slumped over, laying its neck on the grass. The three of us humans had all landed horribly; Brock and Michael had both face-planted into the grass. Looking at them, I sincerely hoped the ground was softer than it looked. Of course, having landed on my ass, I knew better.

Nobody attempted to get up. My whole body felt a little shaky, probably as a result of the force of all that psychic power, and because of my landing, my whole spine hurt. So, I opted to lie on my back, listening to the Pokémon's panting and the humans' groans of pain. We must have stayed like that for at least ten minutes.

Such was the scene that Professor Oak happened upon when he stepped outside, a weary-looking Alakazam following him. I sat up just in time to see the expression on his face when he saw us. We both promptly burst into laughter.

I hadn't actually fucking laughed in so long, I wondered if there was something wrong with me. Going by the looks that Brock and Michael shot me, they were probably wondering the same thing.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Sorry for the long wait, guys. I thought I could get this in before I had to just stop and spend some time dedicating the majority of my life to school. As it is, I have an exam today, but I thought I could use a break from studying. Thanks to some nudging from my beta, chapter 5 is already being written up. Hopefully, the next update will come within the next three weeks.


	5. The Journey Begins

Chapter 5 – The Journey Begins

We all took two days to rest at the lab, and despite the fact that nobody had really been hurt, we needed it. The four transporter Pokémon appreciated the respite, and we three humans had all recovered from our rough landing. We also had the time to access the international PC system, and transferred over all the Shadow Pokémon, one by one, until they were all at the lab. Professor Oak didn't want to let them out after we told him of the kind of destruction Lugia had almost caused in his emotionally-charged Shadow rage. As the professor explained to us that each Pokémon would need a period of focused, loving attention, I realized that we couldn't just take a bunch and cure them that way. To top it off, it seemed as if I was the only one who could actually carry out the final stage of the purification.

"So, Professor Oak, how do you suggest we go about saving these guys? Because of Lugia's power, I'm the only one who can purify them at a moment's notice. In fact, I may be the only one capable of purifying them at all." I looked at Michael. "I'm not sure if the Relic Stone or your lab's Purification Chamber would have been any help."

He agreed. "I think Cipher knows how we purified the Shadow Pokémon before, and they would have prepared for it. They did something to that Celebi's power wouldn't reach Lugia, and nothing I did to try and open up its heart would do anything…and even the Purification Chamber had to be at full power to work."

Professor Oak seemed lost in thought. "Hmm…from your description of the situation, there is only one confirmed way to purify these Pokémon, and that is by giving them warmth, friendship, and love in order to chase out as much of the Shadow energy as possible, then having Wes force his soul to mix with theirs and absorb what little darkness is left." He looked at me uncertainly.

I crossed my arms; his stare unnerved me. "We all know it's risky, but…we don't know what else to do. In the two days we've been here, we've tried using a Time Flute, with Celebi's cooperation. We've gathered Lugia, Celebi, Jirachi, and Ho-oh, and tried to use Silver as a conduit for their psychic power. Hell, I tried being their conduit, and there was still nothing we could do, but if you have an idea, we'd love to hear it."

Oak didn't seem any more pleased at our current options than the rest of the group. "I have an idea, but it's going to take quite a few Pokémon experts. I'm almost certain I can't handle the job alone. I'll need some time to contact them, and I request that you don't leave until I can get back to you. In the meantime, Brock, I believe Ash has returned."

I had no idea who they were talking about, but both the Alakazam and his brother Kadabra had picked up three people and a Pikachu at Pallet Town's borderline. In response, Brock led the two of us out of the lab, saying, "Come on, guys, there's someone I want you to meet."

"I'll catch up," I told them. I hadn't seen Silver, Shadow, or Lugia since our not-so-magnificent entrance, and now that we finally had a chance to get away from the lab, I'd be damned if anyone thought they could keep me away any longer. I hadn't been apart from Silver or Shadow as long as I could remember, much less for two whole days, and with our psychic connection in play, we missed each other's presence that much more, although it allowed the three of us to keep in constant contact.

We had spoken many times while I was working with the other humans in the lab, and Lugia had even jumped in. He warned me that Silver and Shadow's exposure to his power, combined with their experience, granted them the ability to speak through their minds in a way that was physically audible, the same way he spoke. I expected to be shocked when I first heard their voices, but I wasn't expecting their voices to actually come out of their mouths. The first time they greeted me, I stood frozen in shock for at least a full minute.

"Lugia, you liar," I chided, breaking out of the trance. "You said they'd learned to speak like you."

Lugia, who came up right behind them, answered, "They have, but they both find it much less draining on their powers to physically speak. It takes much less energy to simply translate their normal voices into human language."

"That goes for me, especially," Shadow said, "and we think it's because I'm not really a psychic-type."

"Well, in any case, it's great that you guys can speak. Now everyone can understand you, and that makes two fewer voices I have to translate for when we're around other humans." I signalled them to come with me, but I left Lugia behind. Switching to our slightly more private form of communication, I told Lugia, _"I'd rather you stay here, unless I need your power for something; carting you, Ho-Oh, or any other legendary around draws too much attention. That, and it's…kind of a douchebag move."_

Lugia answered in the same manner, this time blocking out everyone else so that only I could hear his voice. _"I will stay by your side. I will only agree to leave once every single Shadow Pokémon has been purified. I must warn you; my power has come to a rather delicate balance inside of you. If you overuse it, or go too long without using it, its side-effects will return, and they will grow worse until you can balance it out again. Because I can help you achieve that balance, I think you'll want me around, as well."_

There was no way I could refuse. _"You'll have to help me out for a while. I'm sure that gauging this kind of thing doesn't come easily."_

Lugia didn't respond. I took that to mean that I was right, and the going would be fairly tough from then on. Coming up on Brock and the person I was to meet, I dropped the thought. It was time to stop worrying about myself and pay attention to the world around me, something that seemed surprisingly hard to do sometimes.

"_Maybe it's because I hold ninety percent of my conversations with Pokémon," _I thought to myself, hoping nobody else heard it.

"Oh, there he is," I heard Brock say. "Hey, Wes, come over here." After waiting a few seconds for me to catch up to them, he turned towards a kid who looked to be about Michael's age. He had jet-black hair, odd markings on his cheeks, and a Pikachu on his shoulder. Immediately, I felt the bond that the two shared. They were best friends, brothers, confidantes…much like my bonds with Silver and Shadow. "This is Ash. Ash, this is Wes," Brock said, unaware of our reactions to each other.

While I stood back and admired Ash's bond with the Pikachu on his shoulder, he looked at me warily. The Pikachu leapt off his shoulder, onto mine, sparks flying from his cheeks. His power became infinitely more apparent by coming in contact with me. Reading his energy was easy; he felt his human friend's wariness of me, and as a result displayed open hostility, yet he hung back. Hoping that I wouldn't startle him into shocking me, I spoke to him with Lugia's psychic power. _"You know, it's usually considered rude to just hop up on somebody's shoulders and start sniffing their face," _I told him smartly.

"_What the lightning-bolts?" _Pikachu cried out, jumping away from me. A dull, electric sting remained where he'd been, but nothing major. _"You just spoke to me?"_

Silver and Shadow chose then to show up, sitting on either side of Pikachu. _"Yep. These two know how to speak human language, too. I'm thinking of using them as mediators with Ash; he doesn't seem too pleased to be around me."_

Pikachu ran back over to Ash, staying on the ground. "What's the matter, Pikachu?" Ash asked worriedly. I focused my eyes on him, scanning the kid's face. He wasn't psychic, but he had some sort of intuition that most people don't. I figured it came from the fact that he had such a strong bond with Pikachu, along with a vague amount of natural talent for reading people. He saw past my skinny build and tough clothing, and saw the part of myself I least liked to expose to the world.

Not wanting to freak Ash out any more than I already had, I took a step back, asking Silver and Shadow to come away from him as well. Brock and Michael looked at Ash, and then at me, and then back at him. Finally, Michael stepped forward and said, "What's your problem? You two can't just hate each other right off the bat."

I placed a hand on Michael's shoulder without realizing it, then pulled away when he moved in surprise. "I have no problem with you, Ash. After all, we've only just met," I reminded him. "I don't know what I could have done to bungle your first impression of me."

Ash stared at me. I could tell he didn't quite know what to say to me, so he turned to Brock. "So, are you saying that you think these two should come with me to Unova?" Finally looking at me, he added, "You didn't do anything wrong, Wes. I guess it was just an impression that I got off of Pikachu."

Glad that he actually spoke to me, I relaxed. "Yeah, you seem to have a really strong bond with Pikachu. I saw it the second I laid eyes on you two. Now, what were you saying about going to Unova?" I was vaguely familiar with the geographical locations of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh in relation to Orre, but Unova was off my radar. I'd heard of it, and I knew it was extremely far away, possibly on the other side of the world.

Ash seemed to relax a little, but not much. "Unova is a region that's really far away from here. I already have gym badges from Kanto, the Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh."

I admit, I was impressed. "So, you've been around. You've got a lot more experience than anyone else your age I know of, except maybe for Michael," I added, nudging him. He playfully shoved me back. "…Look, Ash. For whatever reason, I seem to give you the creeps, but why don't you take Michael with you?"

"What?" he asked, obviously not thrilled. I didn't suppose he'd be, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Orre had pretty much forgotten about me, but if word got around through Gonzap's international connections, there'd be trouble. If they came at me in droves, I would probably have to find myself a gun. I wanted Michael far away from that kind of chaos. "Who says you get to tell me what to do?"

I put on a stern face. "Who knows when Gonzap will get a hold of the other criminal organizations around here, like Team Rocket? According to him, they're a pretty disorganized group, and not much of a threat. If he teams up with their boss, though, there's no telling what would happen. I have a hard enough time dragging Silver, Shadow, and everyone else into that kind of mess, and I don't want you to get hurt."

Michael shook his head. "Do you realize how you're making yourself look right now? If anyone tries to attack you, I'll help you fend them off. You don't think I'll let you walk around on your own, after the state you were in back at the lab, do you?"

I should have known better. "Fine, do what you want…but if someone I think is legitimately dangerous starts tailing us, you run. Got it?"

Michael looked back at me incredulously, as if he hadn't just made it completely clear that he was sticking by me until Lugia's power stopped affecting me so badly. However, he realized that I'd presented my condition, and he could take it or leave it. Grudgingly, he nodded. "Got it."

Brock chose then to intervene. "Well, it's clear that Michael's staying with you, Wes. I only saw you collapse once, but I also think it's best if you have people around you, just in case." Ash looked at me with shock, then. I didn't have to have psychic powers to see the thoughts racing through his head. He was shocked that someone who looked like me could have a serious condition of any sort. He slowed down, thinking that it made sense, given my slight build. He felt pity and sympathy pull at the back of his mind. When he caught me staring at him, he turned his face away.

"What happened to you?" he finally asked.

"It's a long story," I warned him. And then I recounted everything from the dream in which I met Lugia to the journey from Orre to Pallet Town. By the time I was done, Ash's expression had changed. He didn't look afraid of me, but still unnerved. Frankly, I didn't blame him. We stared at each other, Pallet's habitual breezes increasing the tension between us. Finally, I said, "I don't care what you think of me, but could you stop staring at me with that look on your face?"

He must not have realized he made such a face, because it returned to normal as soon as I pointed it out. "Sorry. I just…" he stopped himself. "Brock and Professor Oak already told me about the Shadow Pokémon. I was thinking, it might be best for you to challenge the Pokémon gyms around here. Best for the Pokémon, I mean."

I smiled at him. The look of shock on his face was priceless. "You know what, you're alright, Ash. Thanks for the tip. Well, Kid, you ready to go?" I asked Michael. He gave me the usual glare, but a trace of a smile lay beneath that annoyed mask. Already, I felt something forming between us. "Viridian's just north of here. You two know who the gym leader is?" I asked, turning to Ash and Brock.

Brock answered, "The gym leader there used to be a man named Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, up until the police found out about everything he was doing under the radar, including creating a one-of-a-kind Pokémon called Mewtwo in his lab. I hear someone else is running the gym now, but nobody seems to know who. You know…if you don't mind, I think I'd like to go along with you two. I'm training to be a Pokémon doctor, and working with Shadow Pokémon will give me some real, hands-on experience."

Michael and I looked at each other, smiling. We didn't need to say anything. "Sure you can," Michael answered for the both of us. "With the Shadow Pokémon the way they are now, we don't know what might happen, and having a doctor around might help them. Plus, you might be able to do something for Wes if anything goes wrong with him." Not that he needed to add that last part.

With that, Brock said goodbye to Ash, and the three of us, plus Silver, Shadow and Brightstar, set out for Viridian City. As we left Pallet Town behind, I remembered something. "Hey, Michael, I've got something for you," I said, reaching inside my coat.

"What?" he asked, intrigued. As I pulled the various Pokéballs out, he stared at me in wonder.

"Is there any particular reason you're staring at me like I suddenly started stripping and crawling up a metal pole?" I asked him. Brock doubled over with a shocked snort. Michael looked like I'd just scarred him for life. "And now you're visualizing me strip-teasing and pole dancing, aren't you," I said, tossing him the small bag.

The kid shook his head, possibly to shake those images out of it. Probably to no avail. "It's just…how did you fit that thing inside your coat? You can't possibly have that much room in there. Unless there's something you're not telling us. Now that I think about it, that lab coat didn't look too tight on you, even though it was my size. You're not anorexic or something, are you?"

I laughed out loud. I expected a few other wild claims, but not anorexia. "I'm a caffeine addict. A legitimate one. I survive on coffee and fruit, for the most part. The sugar and caffeine make me as bad as a real insomniac, but if I don't have enough in my system at any given point, I crash. Sometimes, when I'm sick or have gone too long without any sleep, I'll crash anyway. Also, I have a lot of stomach problems, and I'm pretty sure I know what I have to avoid, but sometimes I react to things I don't expect to. So basically, I'm skinny, but I don't do it to myself."

Michael stored the Pokéballs away in a pouch on his hip. "I should have known it would be something like that, but…really? A caffeine addict?"

"Well, I'm really more of a coffee addict. Same difference, though. Anyway, those Pokéballs are from the Outskirt Stand. I bought them five years ago and I don't plan on catching any Pokémon. You, on the other hand, need to expand your team. Lugia told me there was a chance of a Pokémon that I purified going back to you, but a small one. I want you to be able to at least have a few others with you, aside from your Eevee. By the way, is there a reason you've held back evolving him?"

"Actually, I can't decide what I want him to evolve into. I was thinking of letting him become an Espeon or Umbreon on his own, but with Silver and Shadow around…I don't know, it seems a little redundant. And I don't want to force him to evolve with a stone…"

Being an Eevee-enthusiast, and secretly an aspiring Eevee-breeder, I knew the feeling. "Some Pokémon don't know whether they want to evolve. Of the few that can go more than one way, they often don't know what they want to evolve into. The best answer is to let the Pokémon decide, which is what you're already doing, by giving him an Everstone. The key is time. When you and Eevee grow closer, start reflecting each other's personalities, and get older, it'll come to you."

"You know, there's always Leafeon and Glaceon," Brock added, "but you have to train your Eevee in a certain place to get it to evolve into one of them." Michael and I both stared at him with bewildered expressions. "Don't you two know anything about them? You seem to be so knowledgeable."

"Orre's more technologically advanced than other regions, but it's nearly devoid of Pokémon," I told him. "You have an updated Pokédex?"

Brock held it up. "I got it from Professor Oak just before we left, just in case." We spent a few minutes stopped, on the side of the road, updating our PDA's with the information from the Pokédex, which covered every Pokémon from Johto to Sinnoh, and even included species generally only found in the Unova region, where Ash was headed.

"Thanks, Brock. This'll help a lot," Michael said, eyes on his PDA. When he handed the Pokédex over to me, and saw my PDA, his eyes widened. "Wow, Wes! Your PDA's so...retro! Where and when did you get it?"

"Remember, I spent five years in the wilderness," I reminded him. "Kayle got it as payment for an out-of-country shipment of Pokéballs about six years ago. Back then, it was state-of-the-art, and even now it's not too shabby, despite all appearances. I see yours has manual controls instead of a touch-screen," I added, wondering if technology really hadn't advanced all that much.

"Who's Kayle?" Brock asked. Michael turned his eyes away from my PDA and looked up at me. They both wanted an answer.

"My boyfriend of eight years. He owns the Outskirt Stand," I answered. "Michael, you know him, right?"

"Wait, you're gay?" Brock asked, sounding surprisingly comfortable with the idea. He sounded nervous…but also eager. It got me wondering.

"Bi, but as I said, I'm with Kayle." I wanted to end the conversation, knowing that, though a lot of people in Orre accepted homosexual relationships as normal, not everyone thought the same way. "Because of that, and because I don't want to let the Shadow Pokémon suffer any longer than they have to, I want to get this over with and go back home as soon as possible." Though I thought of the adventure ahead not a few days before, thinking of the Shadow Pokémon, and of Kayle, brought forth a sense of urgency.

Finally, we arrived at Viridian. The sunset stood as testament to our long journey. I came to the conclusion that we needed a faster way of getting around.

"I wish I'd taken the bike…" I mused.

"I've seen that thing," Michael and Brock both said.

"It was cool," Michael finished.

"It would attract way too much attention," Brock said. "And its gas emissions are probably way higher than Kanto's regulations would allow for. Seriously, an 8-cylinder engine on a motorcycle?"

"Let's just find the Pokémon center and crash there," I sighed. I'd neglected to drink a full three cups of coffee before we left Pallet, and I realized I forgot to warn Brock and Michael about my tendency for complete delirium before the crash.

Luckily for us, nobody else was inside the Pokémon center except for one nurse. Even so, her head turned. Despite the size of the building, it looked like a place rarely visited, save for Pokémon emergencies. And in we came: a teenager, a kid, three Pokémon, and another "teenager" who looked drunk off his ass.

I remember saying something to the tune of, "Oh shit, what if she thinks I'm drunk and kicks us out of here?"

She didn't, of course. They did, however, have to strap me down to a stretcher so that I wouldn't "cause any unintentional harm to myself or others" until I finally fell asleep. Michael and Brock didn't get much sleep that night – I kept them up with a constant stream of nonsensical babbling. The next morning, without waking them up, I told the nurse that I'd only acted that way because of a severe caffeine deficiency, and needed some to prevent a repeat performance. I sat in the waiting room, with Silver, Shadow, and Brightstar at my side, with my fourth cup in hand. Sempre remained in his ball because, like me, he was from Johto, and the region held too many memories of his deceased trainer. Lugia stayed inside his Pokéball because he wouldn't fit inside the building, and I held Zeera captive to prevent her from destroying anything. So, despite the fact that I had a full team with me, only three saucers lay on the floor, each one filled with coffee. By the time Brock and Michael woke up, the four of us were wide awake.

They told me to go on to the gym without them. After suggesting that I'd wait for them if they wanted, they threatened to buy a dart gun, fill the darts with a powerful tranquillizer, and use it on me next time I tried to deliriously talk them to death.

I left with my team, promising to buy them some sleeping pills after I kicked the gym leader's ass. They told me to buy myself some caffeine pills while I was at it.

Walking out the door, I heard Brock say, "Hey Michael, what do you think he's like on Vicodin?"

"You don't want to know," I said to myself. Really. They didn't want to know.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Believe it or not, some of us caffeine addicts really do act like that when we don't have enough in our systems.

Sorry for the slow updates, guys. My beta and I are both completely bogged down with college work these days, so that cuts into the amount of time we can dedicate to the story. But, at least now you probably have an idea about the amount of time it'll take for us to get a new chapter up.

As always, reviews greatly appreciated! And rewarded with cyber-cookies... :D


End file.
